Fake Press Release Attributed To Maine GOP?

Those of you who are on Facebook, please take a look at this link from MPBN. The link is to a purported press release from the Maine GOP. If it is so, it is the single most poorly written, nonsensical press release I've ever seen.

AUGUSTA- After several weeks of vicious attacks, offered by Maine Democratic Leaders, including Democrat Chairman Ben Grant, further information now indicates that Maine Democrats have intentionally disenfranchised Maine voters in an attempt to suppress voter turnout in the 2010 election cycle.

"The 2010 election was about the welfare state that Maine Democrats had created after 38 years of one party control."

"The last election was a vote to move Maine in a different direction and a chance to give Maine working people a voice in Augusta."

"Maine Democrats obviously knew as we did that Maine people across the State were ready for the change that Maine Republicans brought to the table."

We now know that the University of Maine Farmington College Democrats intentionally suppressed voter turnout on Election Day 2010.

"I have absolutely no doubt that the Maine Democratic Party, and the UMF Democrats felt the wave against them and did whatever that they could to stem the tide." Parking the UMF voter van was one way to do that."

UMF records show that UMF college Democrat activists, reserved a university van for the purpose of driving potential voters to the polls, and then simply parked the van.

"Maine Democrats have criticized and attacked Republicans because they didn't use taxpayer funded vans to drive voters to the polls, we now find out that the Democrat Party parked the van that they had reserved. Who is suppressing the vote?

"UMF Republicans instead worked with the Franklin County Republican Committee and used volunteer automobiles as would be expected by Maine taxpayers."

"The hypocrisy of the Maine Democrat Party only goes to show that they will say anything to attack their opposition, even if it means overlooking the facts"

"Maine Democrats can't have it both ways', Charlie Webster, Chairman of the Maine Republican Party stated, "If anyone made it difficult for Mainer's to participate in the election process it was the Maine Democrat Party, and their activists."

"For the record, the voters of Farmington vote at the Community Center, located 500 yards from the University campus."

I also received the email, but looked on the Maine GOP website and couldn't find it at all. But it seems like if the liberals had really hacked the GOP's Facebook page, they wouldn't have put out a release like this.

The best inference I can make is that the Maine GOP is saying that the Democrats intentionally parked the "voter van" which may be (?) a van dedicated for GOTV efforts and instead chose to do no GOTV figuring it would hurt them. He says this is voter suppression.

The contrast with the college Republicans is that they parked vans and then used private vehicles. The press release tries to draw that distinction.

And the truth is, the Democrats DID spend the past two weeks or so slamming the college Republicans for parking the vans, but nobody ever disclosed that they ran GOTV with private vehicles. Now that there is information indicating the Democrats parks the "voter van" they have essentially spent the last two weeks calling themselves every name in the book.

It would have been a political master stroke had Webster floated the whole 'parking the vans' issue out there for the Democrats to tear apart, then turned it around on them. I'll just quote a newly appointed member of the debt reduction super-congress committee and say "would that it were."

The major problem with this press release is in the following two sentences:

UMF records show that UMF college Democrat activists, reserved a university van for the purpose of driving potential voters to the polls, and then simply parked the van.

"Maine Democrats have criticized and attacked Republicans because they didn't use taxpayer funded vans to drive voters to the polls, we now find out that the Democrat Party parked the van that they had reserved. Who is suppressing the vote?

Who is suppressing the vote? Since both parties did the same thing, either both of are or neither of them are. If that is what the press release is attempting to say, it failed.

I think there's a difference between "disenfranchising" and "suppressing." The heading of the press release suggests that there was an intent to deprive people of a legal right. Then it goes on to state that the polling place is located 500 yards from the campus. This would suggest that both of these allegations from both parties is negligible. I find the whole debate pretty superficial to say the least.

I dunno....when I was in college, 500 yards might as well have been 500 miles for the youngsters staying in the dorms. I'd be there for an 8:00AM class between 7:30 and 7:45, and many of the dorm residents would be lucky to be there by 10 past... ;-)